by Bart Jansen, USA TODAY

by Bart Jansen, USA TODAY

Resumption of the underwater search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 will be delayed a few more days as officials await parts for a key submersible, officials announced Thursday, as they reconsider all information gathered so far in the 69-day effort.

The sub Bluefin-21, which is leased by the U.S. Navy, had been scouring part of the Indian Ocean floor with sonar where signals were detected that could have come from the airliner that went missing March 8.

But after a hiatus from May 5 for ship crews to gather supplies, the unmanned sub was pulled from the water Thursday after only two hours because of problems communicating with its surface ship, Australia's Ocean Shield, according to the Joint Agency Coordinating Center running the search.

Spare parts are being shipped from England and the Ocean Shield will need to collect them no earlier than Sunday in Dampier, Australia, the search committee said.

Also on Thursday, officials leading the search from Australia, Malaysia and China announced they would review all data gathered so far.

The Boeing 777-200ER disappeared with 239 people aboard after radar tracking and some scattered satellite signals suggested it flew to a remote area 1,000 miles west of Australia. Ships detected signals a month ago that could have come from the plane's data or voice recorder.

But no debris has been found from the plane, and the sub moves slower than a walking pace while bouncing sonar signals to find man-made equipment on the ocean floor, suggesting a lengthy search ahead.

Hishammuddin Hussein, Malaysia's defense minister and acting minister of transport, said the review will re-analyze data from Inmarsat, the satellite company that led the search to the Indian Ocean. The search will also conduct a topographical mapping of the ocean floor.

Searchers plan to contract for more subs to search, but those negotiations could take a month or two. Officials from the three lead countries plan to conduct weekly video conferences to discuss the search, with the first on May 19.

"I understand that the disappearance of (the flight) has caused terrible anguish for the families," Hussein said. "The best we can offer at this point in time is our personal assurance that Malaysia will keep searching for the plane for as long as it takes."